THE MAKING OF COLONIES. 



THE INDISPENSABLE COLONIST. 



one branch of irrigation promotion with 

 which the managers of enterprises have not suc- 

 cessfully grappled is that of finding colonists to settle 

 their lands. And this is the indispensable require- 

 ment, too. The stream may be diverted, the canal 

 built, the water brought to the corner of the farm, but 

 unless there is then a settler to apply that water to the 

 land and develop the possibilities of the soil with his 

 brains and brawn, the enterprise cannot realize the 

 hopes of its projectors. There are many irrigation 

 projects scattered all over the West that illustrate the 

 importance of this missing link in the chain of devel- 

 opment. 



WHERE THE TROUBLE LIES. 



There are numerous reasons for the difficulty thus 

 far experienced in the colonization of irrigated lands. 

 The first and foremost is that the great public, at home 

 and abroad, from which settlers must be drawn has 

 not yet been brought to understand the strong attrac- 

 tions of the irrigated farm. Not one man in ten per- 

 haps not one in a hundred of the millions in the East 

 has the slightest comprehension of the deep eco- 

 nomic significance of irrigation. The subject is new to 

 all except the people of the "West, themselves. There 

 must be a widespread and general appreciation of the 

 subject before colonists will move readily to the new 

 West. 



The second great reason lies in the fact that pro- 

 moters of irrigation projects have not themselves 

 grasped the real meaning of irrigation as it affects in- 

 dustrial and social life. With few exceptions, they 

 have not planned model colonies, or sought to show 

 their settlers how to achieve the best results of the 

 small farm. There are those who rail at the " men of 

 song and story," who insist on the necessity of making 

 the very best use of all the opportunities and lifting 

 the irrigated farm and the town which serves as its 

 center to the very highest available standard. And 

 yet the matter is really not open to dispute. Brigham 

 Young planned, with his capacious brain, a scheme of 

 industrial prosperity for his followers. They suc- 

 ceeded. The founders of Greeley insisted on the best 

 standards for everything; the colony-builders of 

 Southern California did likewise, and distinguished 

 success came to them all. Now, there are in Utah, 

 Colorado and California, to-day, large irrigation plants 

 whose managers ignored these examples and simply 

 threw their lands upon the market and left the settlers 

 to plan for themselves. They have the same soil, cli- 

 mate and other conditions as the examples referred to, 

 but thus far they have not succeeded in transmuting 

 their water and land into that hard cash that measures 



the finalj[result.'f Argue as long as you please, and 

 these[facts will still stand out as plain as the sun at 

 noonday. 



PROMOTE THE IDEA. 



Those who are interested in having irrigated lands 

 speedily colonized with a good class of people have 

 two duties. The first is to give hearty support to 

 whatever will bring home the irrigation idea to the 

 country and the world. Let them study the article 

 published elsewhere on the irrigation propaganda and 

 resolve to stand by the organization that has it in 

 hand. 



Let them have no foolish fears about the effects of 

 the Los Angeles declaration concerning water owner- 

 ship and the desert land law. Those principles are 

 eternally right and the men of the West God bless 

 'em! are going to see that they prevail, but they will 

 not affect the present owners of irrigated lands in any 

 way whatever, except favorably. Money has never 

 been made out of the sale of water in the long run. 

 Nowhere has it been possible to "sell water" for more 

 than it has cost to deliver it. Money is made from 

 the sale of land, and if the present movement makes 

 less easy the acquirement of arid public lands in large 

 tracts it will have a favorable influence upon the sale 

 of lands already reclaimed. 



Owners of irrigated lands have everything to gain 

 from this organized movement to arouse the country 

 to the possibilities of anew civilization. They should 

 back that movement with their money and their brains. 

 If they do they will find it easier to sell their land one 

 year hence than they do to-day, and very much easier 

 in two, three and five years than in one. 



WORK OUT MODEL PLAN8. 



The second great duty of land owners is to assist in 

 making 1894 a notable year in the development of 

 attractive colonies. The leaders of irrigation thought 

 will do the preaching with pen and tongue, but the 

 proprietors of land and water enterprises must furnish 

 the practical illustration of what can be done on small 

 farms under irrigation. They should vie with each 

 other in making plans that will attract men and 

 women from the wornout farms of the East and the 

 semi-starvation belt of the middle West, from the fac- 

 tory, the counting-room and the Government depart- 

 ments. THE AGE will gladly give space for the 

 description of these plans. Irrigation philosophy is 

 certain to occupy large attention during the coming 

 year, but irrigation practice can be made to keep step 

 with it if progressive companies realize the responsi- 

 bility that rests upon them and the benefits they may 

 realize from the performance of it. 



